Alas, it looks like the completed film won't be released until sometime in 2011, but the trailer suggests it'll be more than worth the wait. Once again, I find myself wondering, "Who needs Hollywood?" Certainly the HPLHS films don't have Oscar-winning performances but they do have respect for and fidelity to the source material, which is something I'll gladly pay good money to see. Would that we ever get a Conan film that's as faithful to its source material as the HPLHS's output to date ...

(And, apropos of my earlier discussion of CGI, "Whisperer in Darkness" seems to use it the way it ought -- sparingly. The mi-go shown in a couple of parts of the trailer looks good and contra Al, whose opinions I generally share on such matters, I don't think it's overexposed, but I guess time will tell. I have a hard time imagining, though, that this will be a bad production. Indeed, by the looks of it, "Whisperer in Darkness" could very well be the best adaptation of a Lovecraft story to cinema to date, which is both a testament to how awesome the HPLHS is and how pathetic the big movie studios are.)

I have to acknowledge each film the HPLHS society makes is better then the last one, but in all honestly their film still come of a tad amateurish. That's why I am excited to see Guillermo del Toro finally being able to make ATMOM with a budget that can do it justice. Sure there's been film like "The Dunwitch Horror" and"The Reanimator" but those were made by low budget production companies.

I have to acknowledge each film the HPLHS society makes is better then the last one, but in all honestly their film still come of a tad amateurish.

They're more than a tad amateurish, but that's part of what I like about them. These are definitely fan films but they're well-done fan films with a lot of heart and soul and I'll take them any day over slick Hollywood productions that treat beloved characters and stories as exercises in brand building (I'm looking at you Conan).

I am guardedly optimistic about Del Toro's At the Mountains of Madness. I don't doubt that he intends to make a very true-to-Lovecraft film, but now that Cameron is involved, will he still deliver on that?

I have to say I found the acting in the clip to be appalling, and for creature glimpse I don't think it beneficial for the monster model to be detailed and clear. I think Lovecraft could be perfectly well performed on stage [as with many Cugel tales] so long as the actors are eminent and engaged.

Hiss all you want, but when a guy makes a film that grosses 2.7 billions dollars and wants to help make you movie, you can't have a better friend.

Like I said, I am guardedly optimistic about this, based on what I've read. Cameron is a proven money-maker, so it's great to have him in one's corner when it comes to convincing reluctant studio execs to finance your period piece sci-fi/horror film. I just don't want to see At the Mountains of Madness become a "blockbuster" film that adds extraneous characters, silly plot twists, and unnecessary special effects just to get it to the big screen.

Are you guys kidding about At the Mountains of Madness? I'll give Del Toro credit for Pan's Labyrinth, but that's about it. He wants Tom Cruise to star in it... Tom Cruise, folks! And did I hear that Cameron wants to make it 3-D as well?There is no chance that movie is going to have anything resembling subtle style and effect, and no chance it will honor the legacy of Lovecraft.

I'm excited about being able to see the stories Lovecraft wrote, rather than the sexed-up versions designed to make a profit off the jaded.

Lovecraft wrote philosophically-driven fiction, and most "Lovecraft" movies have very little in common with him. Most are about exploitation and just go for shock-value, like Creepshow or something. I'm thankful for the HPLHS, which puts the "literature" back into it.

The movie has a budget of $150 million dollars, plus maybe and additional 50 to 100 million in P&A so it's going to easy cost over $200 million. So there's no question their going to want things like 3D. As for Tom Cruse, who's knows what's going to come from it or what part he's going to play. I wouldn't completely rule him out as he's done good work in the past.

No matter what, I'm quite overjoyed were finally seeing a big budget film on one of HPL's greatest stories and it's great to see two of the leading fantasy/sci-fi filmmakers working today who willing to put their reputation on it. Afterall, they could just like everyone else make ANOTHER film about zombies or teenage vampires couldn't they?

I met some people at a big sf con who have been involved in Hollywood, and they said some interesting stuff.

Apparently there are good reasons some writers have been popular to base films off. Those authors estate collects the money, and have been happy about it. Now when the name is famous enough to start selling movies they are waking up, and thus the studios are vary of that property.

It's not in their mind set to be true to the source.

If they can't have the possibility to mess around they will not touch a property. You will not see a Hollywood movie that is "true to the source material" other than by accident.

It isn't so much that I think the Mi-go are overexposed, so much that I'm worried that they could become overexposed. The Mi-Go to non-Mi-Go ratio in the trailer isn't half bad. And, of course, it isn't too bad.

As for At the Mountains of Madness, all I can say is that if it does in fact turn out a disaster, us Howard fans will offer a shoulder for Lovecraft fans to cry on, for we know your pain all too well. (Though I myself am a Lovecraft fan, so I'll just cry on my own shoulder)

I have to acknowledge each film the HPLHS society makes is better then the last one, but in all honestly their film still come of a tad amateurish.

I don't think I've seen a single SF/fantasy/horror fan film that didn't come off as a tad amateurish. Even big-budget extravaganzas like Born of Hope have a veneer of amateurism. Even so, they're far superior to half the polished professional films Hollywood regurgitates each year.

It is - I mean "the best adaptation of a Lovecraft story to cinema to date". And it will have its World Premiere in SFF-rated ATHENS, March 12, 2011. Check http://sffrated.wordpress.com/2011-whisperer-world-premiere/Alecos PapadopoulosChief Festival OfficerSFF-rated ATHENS

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